Demographic Profile of Bălți Municipality
Automatically translated summary. The full text is available in Romanian.
A demographic profile of Bălți, Moldova's second-largest city, shows continuous population decline and ageing. With 98.2 thousand residents at the start of 2022, or 3.8% of the country's population, the municipality faces a negative natural increase and the outflow of young people, according to a study supported by UNFPA Moldova, SDC and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection.
In 2021 the birth rate was 11.2 per 1,000 residents and the death rate 19.1, giving a natural decrease of 7.9 per 1,000. Working-age people make up 58% of the population, yet only 53% of those aged 15-64 are in paid work. Only one in five households easily covers basic needs. The total fertility rate is 1.5 children per woman, below desired family size. One in ten residents, and one in four aged 15-34, intends to move abroad within three years.
The study recommends wider access to early education, well-paid jobs and support for young entrepreneurs, gender equality campaigns, healthy and active ageing, and stronger social assistance, especially for older people living alone.
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